User:Twoulfe/Hymenoepimecis argyraphaga

Habitat
Hymenoepimecis argyraphaga is indigenous to Costa Rica. Its ideal habitat would include and good source of food, mating sites, and a stable population of their host spider. This parasitic wasp feds on sugar and nectar and tends to be near heavy vegetation. The wasp prefers heavy vegetation because this provides both a good mating site as the wasp mate on tips of leaves and protection during development. Heavy vegetation provides thick undergrowth where the spider can spin their webs providing protection from heavy rains and winds.

Morphological Features
Adult wasps have black heads with large eyes and thin antenna's. Their wings are 6-14 mm long and come in multiple different colors and patterns. The wings can be solid black, orange with black patterns, black with yellow spots and patterns or translucent. They also have yellowish brown, slender mandibles and thin legs. Adult female wasp also have a ovipositor that is 1 to 1.4 times longer than their hind tibia. The ovipositor not for laying eggs but is used in the process by stinging the host and searching for other eggs that have been laid. Females also have claws with a large basal lobe. The cocoon is a pale yellow or orange that gets darker as the larva develops.

Reproduction
Wasp have a haplodiploid genetic system, meaning unfertilized eggs with become males and fertilized eggs with become females. Wasp reproduction ratios can change based of seasonal changes and environmental stress. Depending on these factors, the egg with either be fertilized or be unfertilized. Males seek out females for reproduction, but seem to fly in random patterns above the undergrowth. They encounter females after they emerge from their cocoons and leave the underbrush. While the males seem to fly in random patterns, they locate the females withing minutes, suggesting a long range pheromone. The male will land on the female and copulate which takes roughly 10 seconds. There has been no observed aggression between wasp when reproducing.

Development
After copulation, the female wasp must find a host for her egg. First she must immobilize the host using venom from her ovipositor. This can be done is two different ways, she could either use a method of attack or a deceiving method. For the method of attack, the wasp would hover over its host until it had an opening to swing down and capture it by threading its legs through the web to tightly pin down the host. It would then jab the host repeatedly with the ovipositor, while injecting the host with venom. For the deceiving method, the wasp would act as if it was caught in the spiders web and lay still on its back. When the spider approaches, the wasp will grab onto the host and sting repeatedly until the spider stops struggling so the wasp can insert the ovipositor into the spider's cephalothorax and continuously sting for 2 minutes. Once the host is paralyzed, the wasp has 5-10 minutes until they paralyzation wears off. The wasp will then use the ovipositor to probe for existing eggs or larvae in the spider, if she finds any, she will remove them to replace with her own egg. The eggs is glued to the abdomen of the spider. 2-3 days later the first-instar larva with hatch, and partially emerge from the egg. the first-instar will create a large hole in the spider's abdomen in order to access the hemolymph. The larva will then feed on the hemolymph, creating a harden saddle. In another 2-3 days the second-instar larva will hatch and insert it's hook-like structure into the hemolymph saddle and completely emerges from its egg. The larva releases a chemical induction that causes the host to spin a special web to make a cocoon for the larva. Once the cocoon has been made the larva will kill its host and pupate. Seven days later metamorphosis happens and the wasp will live for 2-3 weeks.


 * https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Hymenoepimecis_argyraphaga/
 * https://alchetron.com/Hymenoepimecis-argyraphaga - pictures